Civil Society Education Fund Results Report: July - December 2013

Transcription

1 Civil Society Education Fund Results Report: July - December 2013

2 What is the Civil Society Education Fund? The overall aim of the CSEF programme is to: Contribute to the achievement of national education goals and Education for All by ensuring the effective participation of civil society organisations and citizens in education debates and sector planning and review. The Civil Society Education Fund (CSEF) is an ambitious and unique global programme that supports citizen engagement in education sector policy, planning, and monitoring, through the collaboration of national, regional and international civil society partners. CSEF provides core financing, capacity support, and opportunities for cross-country learning to national civil society coalitions focused on education in developing countries across Africa, Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Through this support, the CSEF aims to build stronger, more consistent and more effective civil society participation in national education sector processes. Who manages CSEF? The CSEF is managed by the Global Campaign for Education (GCE), in close collaboration with regional implementing partners, including the Arab Campaign for Education for All (ACEA), the Africa Network Campaign for Education for All (ANCEFA), the Asia South Pacific Association for Basic and Adult Education (ASPBAE), the Latin American Campaign for the Right to Education (CLADE) and ActionAid Americas, Education International Asia Pacific, and Oxfam GB West Africa. The programme is currently funded through a grant of US$14.5m by the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), and supervised by UNESCO. Complementary funding is also provided by AECID for non-gpe partner countries in Latin America, managed directly by CLADE. Timeline, aims and objectives The current phase of the CSEF program was initiated in April 2013 through a three-months planning period, leading into an implementation phase. Due to initial delays in funding, and the resulting interruptions to activities, a no-cost extension was agreed, and the program phase will now run till March The CSEF is founded on four core objectives: Policy participation: Formal civil society participation in education sector policy and review processes and engagement with policy-makers and parliamentarians is strengthened and better-recognised. Public awareness and coalition-building: National education coalitions are actively strengthening grassroots capacity to access and participate in education sector debates, through building awareness, knowledge and skills, and opening opportunities to participate. Quality research monitoring and analysis: Civil society research and analysis effectively contributes to national government plans, policies, financing and practices that better achieve the right to quality education for all and the six EFA goals. Cross-country learning and networks for change: The CSEF programme builds the quality and impact of civil society engagement in the education sector through promoting partnerships, strengthening South-South collaboration, sharing learning, and facilitating impact on global policy processes A tailored learning, monitoring and evaluation framework, with coherent indicators and targets, has been put in place to measure progress, and to feed into planning and learning activities. CSEF approach and principles CSEF is founded on an understanding that achievement of education goals requires the broad-based and informed participation of citizens, and that this participation is dependent on effective and coordinated civil society formations to facilitate engagement. The programme therefore focuses its support on national civil society structures, with nationally driven agendas, drawing expertise and support, from structures outside the country, such as the CSEF International Partners Group (consisting of a range of regional and international NGOs working on education issues). Core to the CSEF model is the principle of working with one national education coalition in each country: the aim is thus to support the engagement of a broad and representative group of civil society organisations in conducting coordinated activity. This both strengthens the impact of participation, and ensures better representation of diverse voices. CSEF also strongly encourages coalitions to develop and work through sub-national structures to increase their reach and influence. A further principle is that each national coalition, through internal deliberation by members, identifies its own specific policy objectives and activities, ensuring responsiveness to national context, citizen priorities, and specific strengths and opportunities.

3 What were the main CSEF achievements in 2013? By the end of 2013, civil society structures in 53 countries had engaged in CSEF activities during this phase, with 49 coalition proposals fully approved: 26 in Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Cote d Ivoire, Djibouti, DRC, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritania Mozambique, Niger Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, The Gambia, Togo, Zambia, Zimbabwe 13 in Asia and the Pacific: Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, PNG, Solomon Island, Sri Lanka, Timor Leste, Vanuatu, Vietnam. 4 in Latin America and the Caribbean: Bolivia, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua. 6 in the Middle East and Eastern Europe: Albania, Georgia, Moldova, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen. Further engagement is also ongoing in Angola, Haiti, Afghanistan and Myanmar. All of the 49 coalitions currently implementing CSEF-supported activities are carrying out activities and contributing significantly to the progress of the programme. For example: All coalitions are focusing on strengthening their participation and influence in policy processes through engagement with key actors In order to increase influence coalitions are carrying out research and monitoring of education sector plans, policies, budgets and activities Research findings are converted into policy proposals and submissions Activities are carried out through the engagement of members, communities and the general public, to create awareness and encourage participation of citizens to strengthen the voice and influence of civil society in education debates, not only nationally, but also at regional and global level, particularly post-2015 discussions All coalitions are focused on at least one of GPE s key thematic areas. More specifically:»» Twenty-seven coalitions focus on issues relating to access and reaching every child, with a particular emphasis on inclusive education, including Bolivia, Cape Verde, Moldova, and Timor Leste»» Twenty-one coalitions focus on education systems issues (governance, legal reform, etc.), with a majority on financing, including Malawi, Sudan, Pakistan and Yemen»» Twenty-two coalitions focus on issues related to quality education, with 15 of these working explicitly on issues related to teachers, including Cambodia, Georgia, Rwanda, and Lesotho.

4 Objective 1: Policy participation Coalitions have been actively engaged in policy participation, and 29 reported ongoing involvement with Local Education Groups (LEGs). Some coalitions did not engage, due to reasons including political instability, inaccessible or exclusive structures, or lack of access for newer coalitions. This will be an important focus area for future support in the CSEF programme. Relevant political engagement extends beyond the LEG and by the end of December 2013, coalitions in 44 countries were actively engaging with 141 relevant education sector policy and review forums, including Technical Working Groups (TWGs), government commissions, parliamentary committees, etc. Further, CSEF coalitions collectively contributed 115 submissions to relevant policy-making bodies including commentaries on proposed laws or policies, analysis and proposals on specific policy issues, and findings of research and citizen consultations. 17 different regional or global advocacy processes were managed that drew on contributions from specific national coalitions, on a wide range of topics including: Submissions to regional forums on youth and adult literacy in Asia Pacific Creation of a regional advocacy platform on free education in Latin America Development of global advocacy briefings on domestic financing, mother-tongue education and post Africa: 11 coalitions variously engage in three to six policyorientated forums and four have active involvement with parliamentary committees. In three countries coalitions are increasingly gaining access to and recognition in political spaces. Asia Pacific: Timor Leste and Vanuatu each engage with no fewer than eight education sector policy-making and monitoring spaces, while Papua New Guinea similarly participates in seven fora. In addition to the LEG and other relevant fora, Bangladesh and Timor Leste participate in parliamentary processes (committees/ hearings). In the case of Mongolia, in the absence of a LEG, the coalition is active in at least six TWGs and expert committees. Latin America and the Caribbean: The Dominican Republic coalition participates in the Social, Political, and Financial Commitment for Education Monitoring Committee, and the Honduras coalition has positioned its approach before FONAC, the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights. Middle East and Eastern Europe: Evidence demonstrates that, despite political instability and challenges, coalitions engage with some relevant policy spaces and fora. For example, in Somalia, the coalition has now signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ministry of Education, and the coalition in Albania has actively participated in parliamentary hearing sessions. CASE STUDY: GHANA Through CSEF support, the Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition (GNECC) carried out analysis of 2012/2013 education data which revealed that schools in urban and suburban areas had, on average, a surplus of teachers, whereas schools in rural and deprived areas lacked trained teachers. Based on this analysis the coalition engaged in advocacy sessions with various stakeholders in the education sector, including basic education mangers at the district and national level, the media, and other civil society groups. A policy brief was widely circulated to all partners including the Local Education Group. This helped to raise the profile of inequities in the deployment of trained teachers in public basic schools on Ghana s political agenda. Following this, the Minister of Education mentioned GNECC s research in an interview; in March 2014 the President of Ghana raised the issue of appropriate teacher employment, announcing a national exercise to reverse the trend in his address to the nation. GNECC is following up to monitor this process carefully.

5 Some examples of good practice in participation: Burkina Faso: Proposals submitted by the coalition (CNEPT- BF) for the recruitment of increased numbers of qualified teachers, and the abolition of voluntary teachers, have been accepted by the Ministry of National Education and Literacy. Ghana: The submission of a position paper, Addressing Teacher Gaps in Basic Education, by the national coalition (GNECC) contributed to a teacher re-distribution exercise undertaken by the Minister of Education. Togo: The coalition (CNT/EPT) urged the government to take quick measures to reopen classes after a violent strike at the beginning of the school year. The Minister of Education was called to account resulting in the government and unions committing to reopen the classes. Zambia: The coalition (ZANEC) used research to lobby for increased financing as a means of improving access and quality of education. Subsequently, the 2014 National Budget, in an historical turn, included a 20.2% share to education. The coalition also contributed to the recruitment and countrywide deployment of 1000 Early Childhood Education (ECE) teachers. Bangladesh: The coalition (CAMPE) provided substantial input to formulate and strengthen the Comprehensive Education Act. Mongolia: The coalition (All For Education) contributed to recommendations on inclusive education during a multistakeholder consultation organised by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Population Development and Social Protection, and submitted recommendations to the Prime Minister advocating to implement education strategies on boys education. Solomon Islands: The coalition (COESI) provided inputs to the draft National Literacy Policy (which is in its fourth draft to date). Timor Leste: The coalition (TLCE) successfully presented the CSO assessment of progress and challenges in achieving EFA goals. The presentation was used by the Ministry of Education in its report to the UN. Vanuatu: The coalition (VEPAC) actively contributed to the development of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) shadow report, and contributed to the Disability Policy Paper. Bolivia: The coalition (CBDE) contributed to the Bill on Boy, Girl, and Adolescent Code concerned with gender inclusion, openness and flexibility of institutional management, and curricular design. The contributions were accepted by the Technical Team and the law is currently under revision for its approval in the Plurinational Legislative Assembly. Dominican Republic: Proposals to strengthen the Education Budget Monitoring Watch for the years 2014 to 2016 were accepted by the Monitoring Committee and are currently pending final decision. Albania: The coalition (ACCE) successfully submitted a set of recommendations which will provide and ensure the integration of Roma children in education, from pre-school level to higher education. Contributions to regional and global advocacy processes Regional Secretariats and the Global Secretariat encouraged coalitions to contribute to and participate in 38 regional and global policy dialogue and advocacy processes. In addition, secretariats engaged in at least 17 specific global and regional advocacy processes, by drawing on research and advocacy work carried out by national coalitions. During this period, a major focal point for national advocacy has been the national EFA Reviews and the broader post-2015 development agenda process. In Africa coalitions engaged through ANCEFA s support with the Big Push initiative through public awareness-raising around accelerating the delivery of EFA in their countries. ASPBAE supported coalitions in Asia and the Pacific by promoting their research on literacy, youth and adult education, helping to open up opportunities for coalitions to engage in international processes. For example the national coalition in Papua New Guinea (PEAN) was invited to collaborate with UNESCO on further literacy studies, and COESI Solomon Islands was asked to draft the new National Literacy Policy In Latin America coalitions have joined efforts on advocacy around the role, rights and status of teachers, with CLADE drawing attention to these issues in international discussions including cases of attacks on and violations of teachers rights. In the Middle East ACEA drew extensively on the work of coalitions to raise awareness and mobilise support in the region for EFA campaigns, particularly around issues such as girls education. At the global level GCE drew on the work of various coalitions to inform advocacy around domestic financing for education and the production of a briefing on domestic finance issues: A Taxing Business: Education Financing For All Through Domestic Resources. With relevant research to back up advocacy work, and the support of regional bodies to raise the profile of their work, coalitions credibility has increased in their respective countries.

6 Objective 2: Public awareness and coalition-building By March 2014, 3,948 separate organisations were involved in CSEF work as members of funded coalitions, an increase of 919 since the start of this programme phase in April Coalitions in all four regions are predominately represented by grass-roots-based civil society actors, including teachers and other civic unions, women s, children s, youth and disabilityoriented organisations. Effective representation is vital, and most coalitions have mechanisms in place for consulting members before participating in key meetings and consultations, through information-sharing and feedback processes using phone, mail and social media platforms. One fifth of coalitions work through thematic working groups, think-tank groups or documentpreparation editorial groups. Such groups effectively address time and resource constraints as well as ensuring that local voices are heard and represented on issues that are of particular interest or focus to relevant groups. However, there remain some challenges, including geographic distance to members in isolated areas, and the often very short notice given by government and donors to prepare for events. Some good practice examples of membership consultation: Kenya: For regular monthly meetings, agenda items are discussed online in advance. When the agenda involves documents requiring input, the coalition (Elimu Yetu) convenes a technical committee to look at the documents and prepare feedback. This approach, for instance, was used to prepare the coalition s contributions for the National Education Sector Plan. Nepal: The system includes a Publication and Editorial Team within the coalition (NCE Nepal), which consists of four members including board and steering committee members. When proposals and analyses are developed, all member contributions are sent to the Editorial Team for review and validation before publication and submission. Vanuatu: Drafts of policy briefs, statements and submissions are circulated by the coalition (VEPAC) to all board members, staff, ASPBAE and other key individuals with specific competencies or interests to collect their views and comments before documents are finalised and circulated externally. Dominican Republic: For the analysis and discussion of the Pact for Education, for instance, three working committees were created for the coalition s critical review and preparation of a proposal on the various components of the Pact. Public awareness of critical education issues To increase awareness levels of EFA and critical local education issues, and to facilitate citizen engagement in education debates, coalitions collaborated and worked in partnership with 191 other stakeholders outside their own membership, including other NGOs, academic institutions, international partners, etc. Most coalitions were particularly strong in terms of public outreach: 177 different media engagements took place (even though engagement with the media can be difficult or involve risks in some political contexts) and the majority of televised events involved panel or public awareness-raising debates on critical local education issues. Some of the televised and radio broadcast events were publicly shared on platforms such as YouTube. Additionally, coalitions produced 19 publications, and undertook 93 different public-facing campaigns or mobilisation exercises, including lectures, community meetings, open seminars, publicity campaigns, and similar activities. Comments from coalitions about how engagement with media and public interventions has resulted in change: The feedback from the public during the radio discussion and phone-in program witnessed the public expressing gratitude for the opportunity to voice and learn from the shared opinions. Sierra Leone After a public hearing, a process of identification of all the outof-school children was undertaken by the Education Department. India Media engagement has resulted in the coalition always being consulted when any educational issue is discussed in the country. Nicaragua The media has now integrated periodical publication of the results of our education issues bulletins Dominican Republic The publication of our initiatives in the media attracted attention of Ministries to gather as much useful information as possible that could help them in their initiatives re the Albanian educational system. Albania 50,000 adolescents from 35 districts participated in a Dream Learning Environment perception survey. Findings shared among policy makers and other stakeholders were reported as an eye opener for all concerned. Nepal After increasing public awareness through an inclusive education workshop, education organizations which have at least 50 schools under their management committed to provide free primary education to all disabled children who want to return to school. Somalia

7 CASE STUDY: YEMEN In Yemen, girls face grave challenges in accessing education and represent the largest group of illiterate children. The National Basic Education Development Strategy (NBEDS, ) aims to address these issues by focusing on access to education for girls and in rural areas. The Yemeni Coalition for Education for All embarked on monitoring the progress of the implementation of this strategy, exposing that girls are still disadvantaged and kept outside the system. An analysis of the situation revealed that traditional belief systems and customs have a powerful effect on the recognition of girls rights, and the coalition therefore engaged in awareness-raising with local communities and dialogue with Imams and community leaders to influence positive views and attitudes around girls education. Media coverage helped build profile around the issue and mobilised other communities to engage.

8 Objective 3: Quality research, monitoring and analysis 46 relevant research studies were initiated (some still in progress) during the reporting period, with a particularly high proportion in Asia Pacific. While six months is a limited time to put the research and tracking exercises in use in advocacy work, a number of coalitions have still demonstrated impressive efforts to initiate engagement in policy processes. 12 coalitions were able to describe some emerging results of impact on government policy and positioning. Some examples are shown in the table opposite. CASE STUDY: MALAWI Through CSEF support, Civil Society Education Coalition (CSEC) Malawi conducted an analysis of the 2012/2013 education budget and commissioned a Public Expenditure Tracking Survey (PETS) in selected districts, focusing on construction of school blocks, teacher houses and school capitation grants. Findings from these exercises demonstrated discrepancies in government spending compared to actual financial commitments, for example, only 1125 of 2500 guaranteed new classrooms had been constructed. Through the PETS CSEC also uncovered that, in the district of Kasungu, learning materials procured through a selected company were never delivered to schools. CSEC notified the Ministry of Education and local authorities, and the company was forced to reimburse the funds to the district.

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10 Objective 4: Cross-country learning and collaboration The current phase of the CSEF programme has seen a scaling-up of initiatives to foster learning and collaboration among coalitions and other actors operating in education advocacy. A global learning plan has been developed, based on needs and interests identified by coalitions, aiming to provide tools and resources to support civil society advocacy and policy work in a sustainable manner. Furthermore, a comprehensive learning, monitoring and evaluation (LME) system has been set up for the CSEF programme globally, and well as reporting guidelines and templates. Information gathered through this system is collated in a global database, used as a basis for learning tools and documents on both best practice and common challenges. Regional CSEF partners provided capacity support and accompaniment to coalitions, including 11 capacity building tools, reports or briefings, as well as field visits and training. In addition they have built processes to share learning and exchange with some examples outlined below. Regions also facilitated cross-country and cross-regional partnerships and networking for 10 collaborations in 2013: AFRICA: ANCEFA Linked CSEC Malawi to mentor and support the national education coalition in Botswana Linked ZANEC Zambia to mentor the coalition in Namibia Linked CEF Lesotho and ZANEC to exchange learning on operations of Thematic Committees Linked COSYDEP Senegal to support COMEDUC Mauritania Linked the Burkina Faso coalition to support FADE Djibouti ASIA PACIFIC: ASPBAE Facilitated opportunities for INGO members of the Regional Funding Committee, including Plan International, Save the Children, ActionAid and the Open Society Foundations, to meet and engage with coalition representatives and discuss potential future collaboration ASPBAE invited representatives from Plan International and ChildFund to a meeting in Sri Lanka to assist in the rebuilding of the coalition. Both INGO representatives indicated an interest in providing future support. MIDDLE EAST & EASTERN EUROPE: ACEA The Reform of Education in the Arab World Conference conducted by ACEA in April included participation from all coalitions, allowing networking and partnership building with international organisations, such as: Foundation for Future; DVV International; Oxfam Novib; and Education International. During the Secretariat visit to Yemen in July 2013, ACEA facilitated meetings between the Somalia and Sudan coalitions to collaborate on finalising and strengthening their advocacy plans. The ACEA and GCE Secretariat capitalised on the opportunity of financial management and advocacy workshops taking place during October 2013 in Yemen, to facilitate a joint meetings on CSEF experiences with representatives of six coalitions (Albania, Georgia, Moldova, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen). Globally, GCE worked with CSEF coalitions to gather good practice stories for a civil society learning publication, for example focusing on engagement of the coalition in Burkina Faso in education sector planning processes and COSYDEP Senegal s engagement in abolishing a harmful teacher recruitment system. This was shared with all CSEF coalitions, and is available online. Further, an initial document was produced, outlining strong examples of CSEF coalition work to ensure social accountability in the education sector, including facilitation of public expenditure tracking surveys in Malawi, community level budget monitoring and analysis in Nicaragua, the use of media to highlight spending inconsistencies according to budgets in Bangladesh, and a new

11 Education Watch Initiative in Kenya. This will be developed into a fuller learning document in 2014, and used as a basis for ongoing dialogue among coalitions through GCE s newly developed multilingual online discussion forum. Furthermore, GCE produced four key policy documents, most all five CSEF languages, to be used as policy and advocacy resources by CSEF coalitions: A Taxing Business: financing Education For All through domestic resources; Mother Tongue Education: policy lessons for equity and inclusion; Equal Right, Equal Opportunity: inclusive education for children with disabilities; and The Right to Education Post In addition to support provided by the regional partners and GCE, the CSEF International Partners Group provides an important component which aims to make capacity strengthening of coalitions more coordinated and effective through already existing initiatives and expertise of partners that work in the education sector, and have offices or programs on the ground. The group now consists of ActionAid, Education International, GIZ Backup Education, Ibis, Open Society Foundations (OSF), Oxfam, Plan International, RESULTS, Save the Children and Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO). These organisations have helped supporting coalitions developing strong CSEF advocacy plans, for example: OSF: Albania OSF and the Brazilian Campaign for the Right to Education: Cape Verde and Guinea Bissau OSISA and MEPT Mozambique: Angola OSISA: DRC Plan International: Benin Oxfam and COSYDEP Senegal: Mauritania RESULTS US: Tanzania The International Partners Group has regular calls to discuss new engagement, and keeps a tracking document to capture INGO presence, projects and expertise, which is updated regularly, and feeds into planning. Upcoming collaborations include learning circles with OSF on the Theory of Change, and research and advocacy planning based on VSO materials. Conclusion Unique value has been observed in this phase of CSEF, with increased engagement of citizens in education debates, and improved respect and recognition of inputs made. A growing number of coalitions are having policy proposals developed through broad membership consultations adopted into official papers and legislation on education. Awareness is being raised on key issues across different parts of countries, giving citizens that are excluded or who live in remote areas a voice and a say in determining their own education. Capacity support is becoming more strategic and focused, deriving from interests and needs identified on the ground, and more international partners are getting involved to ensure coordinated support. Good practice is being documented ensuring coalitions are learning from each others approaches, which also furnish them with the ability to establish dialogue and partnerships with other networks in different parts of the world. In the coming period, GCE and regional partners will continue implementing planned activities, while also engaging with regional and international partners, GPE and UNESCO in strategies to secure future long term funding to continue this crucial work. There will also be an increased focus on sharing learning between coalitions, but also regional entities, in order to ensure that there is the best possible practice in capacity-building and technical support across the programme. CSEF will also continue to demonstrate and share good practice from this extensive, varied, impressive and often innovative work in dozens of countries around the world.

12 CSEF-funded coalitions Moldova Albania Georgia Afghanistan Mexico Haiti Honduras Guatemala Nicaragua Costa Rica Colombia Ecuador Peru Dominican Republic Bolivia Brazil Paraguay Senegal Gambia Guinea Bissau Cape Verde Sierra Leone Liberia Mauritania Mali Niger Burkina Faso Nigeria Togo Benin Cote d Ivoire Cameroon Ghana Angola Sudan Ethiopia DRC Uganda Somalia Kenya Rwanda Burundi Tanzania Malawi Zambia Zimbabwe Mozambique Djibouti Yemen Pakistan Chile Argentina Lesotho Mongolia Nepal Bangladesh India Myanmar Vietnam Cambodia Sri Lanka Indonesia PNG Timor Leste Solomon Islands Vanuatu Funded by GPE CURRENTLY FUNDED PREPARATORY STAGE PREVIOUSLY FUNDED Funded by AECID CURRENTLY FUNDED